Don't Forget You Remeber Me
by 7Seven7
Summary: Post 1x22 Residents of Storybrooke regain their memories. Henry, Emma, Belle & Rumplestiltskin work together to find a way to return to Storybrooke. Charming and Snow are reunited with each other as well as Emma, but Regina has a way to break up the Charmings and get Henry back. Oh- and everyone's begun to lose their memories again. Snowing & Rumbelle. Please Review!
1. FTL Flashback

A/N: hey guys this scenes the only one in the FTL, the rest is in SB, Let me know if you want me to continue!:)

Once upon a time, there was an enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters we know.

Or think we know.

One day they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen.

Our world.

This is how they got their happy endings back.

In a dark castle in another realm, an evil queen relaxed in her throne, watching the happy lives of her swore enemies through her magic mirror. Snow White was now well into her pregnancy and it seemed that every day Prince Charming came home with a new addition to his collection of toys for their little bundle of joy- a daughter, she guessed, judging by all the pink.

It made her sick.

Maybe it was because true love and a family was something Regina wanted for herself more than anything, but knew not how to obtain. She had, at one point, had a family (though her relationship with her mother was one based on fear rather than love, they were a family nonetheless), but her parents were dead now, both at her hand, both for separate reasons. Killing her mother had been a pleasure to her, killing her father a pain.

She had even tried adopting those children she found in the forest, but they declined her offer, preferring to live with their father- a man who could not offer them half of what she could.

But then again, maybe her hatred for Snow White was the source of her disgust with the royal family. Either way, she felt the need to watch every move of their _happy_ little married life. She felt it would make their downfall all the more delightful for her.

"Do you have it?" Regina asked without looking away from the mirror. She knew he was there; she had had enough experiences with him to know he did not announce his presence until he wished to do so.

He appeared seemingly out of nowhere, carrying with him a vile of an opaque blue concoction.

"Looking for this, Dearie?" He asked with his evil grin as he approached the throne of the Evil Queen, keeping a safe distance away from her.

Upon seeing the prize she had been dreaming of for the past year, Regina's eyes lit up like a greedy child's. She reached out to claim the beaker as her own, but was rejected by Rumpelstiltskin's quick hands as he pulled it back, denying her the long sought after prize.

"Ah-ah-ah, not so fast there, Dearie" he scolded, "We still have a bit to go over before I hand this great power over to you. As you know-"

"Yes, yes. _All magic comes with a price_" Regina mimicked in a nasally tone. "But what is there to go over? You promised me an unbreakable curse that would wipe the memories away of all who lived in the enchanted forest. Have you lied to me, Rumpelstiltskin?" Regina asked impatiently.

"There is a strict set of rules and restrictions that come along with this curse, and, unfortunately, no owner's manual"

"Of course not- I am a man of my word. The curse will make the memories of all of your subjects whatever you wish for them to be. It will affect everyone currently living under your rule. But there is one _small_ weakness to this curse. It is made of the most powerful force in this world and many other worlds as well- true love. True love is the only thing powerful enough to bring back these people's memories. Should true love be expelled back into the area under the curse's power, the curse would be weakened for 12 hours, during which time people's memories will be restored, only to slowly deteriorate again. If the curse can remain unbroken throughout those 12 hours, however, it will become permanent, and nothing will be able to break it."


	2. Back at the Hospital

The huge wooden clock in the middle of town ticked to 8:15, but it was so heavily clouded by the purple fog that you would not have been able to tell.

Emma looked up from her embrace with Henry to see if the thick purple cloud had cleared away from them. Since Henry had been so sure that the haze had meant bad things, Emma had engulfed him tightly when it passed over them, as if the protective warmth of her hug could save him from whatever evil the mist had brought along with it. The air around her seemed settled. There seemed to be no immediate damage.

"Are you two alright, Princess?" The nun that had been in the hospital room asked. No immediate response was given, until Henry gave Emma a small nudge.

"She's talking to _you_, Emma. _You're_ their princess" Henry explained.

Emma paused for a moment to reflect on all the times in her youth when she dreamed of being a princess and living in a fairy tale. If only she had known what she would be getting herself into.

"Oh, uh sorry" Emma apologized quickly, "Yeah, we're fine- I think. You guys okay?" She asked, in reference to the nun, Dr. Whale, and the nurses that had been milling about.

"Oh, no need to worry about us, Princess! We're quite alright! You should sit though, can I get you anything, a drink perhaps?" one of the nurses asked. Henry giggled at Emma's confused and slightly annoyed face.

"No, I'm fine" She answered. Emma had lived her entire life taking care of herself, she was not about to let anything change that. She refused to allow herself to become dependent on others. No one needed her and she did not need anyone- or at least, that was the way it had always been. Lately, however, she found her trust laying more and more heavily on others. Granted there were not many people she trusted, but there were at least a few, a development very much progressing from recent years.

"Not for long" Henry informed Emma. She looked at him questioningly, and he continued on with his train of thought. "All of you are new to this fairy tale stuff, but I practically have a Master's Degree in it! I've been reading that book for the past two years; I know it inside and out. If I'm right about this- which I probably am- then that fog means that someone poured something _very_ powerful into the enchanted well, which is why is spread so far so fast. Whatever that stuff was, we're breathing it in now, and there's no way to stop that. That purple stuff is the same stuff as the curse, which means it's going to have the same effect- you're all going to start losing your memories again. I won't- the curse doesn't affect me since I'm not from the enchanted forest. If I remember from the book correctly, it will take 12 hours until the curse permanently sets back in, but only about 10 hours until you lose your memories. Unless Princess Emma defeats the Evil Queen by 8:15pm, we're all doomed to be forever stuck under the curse".

Emma silently cringed at the title of _Princess_ that was held before her name. Henry's words echoed in her head. _Unless Princess Emma defeats the Evil Queen by 8:15pm, we're all doomed to be forever stuck under the curse_. When had she asked for all this? When did she want to be responsible for an entire town? All she had wished for was to not be alone on her birthday, and though she was surrounded by people now, she felt more alone than ever. She was singled out- the _only_ one who could ever break this curse. She groaned inwardly and regretfully announced that she would, in fact, set out to find a way to break the curse and save the townspeople's memories- just as soon as Henry changed out of his hospital gown and into some real clothes.


	3. A Very Charming Reunion

Mary Margret Blanchard and David Nolan no longer existed. They were fictional characters in Regina's twisted re-write of life.

An hour ago, there was a man named David Nolan who was running from the mistakes he had made. He was a cheater and a liar. He allowed his failing marriage to crumble while had had an affair and accused his true love of murder. He needed a fresh start in a new place, a place where no one would hate him for what he had done; the lives he had ruined.

During that same time, there was a woman named Mary Margret Blanchard. She had previously been the innocent school-teacher that Storybrooke knew and loved. However, these past few months had brought much change to her life. No longer was she thought of as that innocent woman. She had had an affair, been slapped in the face by her lover's wife, been called the meanest things by people she thought were friends, and had been arrested for murder.

An hour ago, that woman was trying to forget, and that man was trying to escape to a place where everyone else would forget. Now, however, these two people felt gladder than ever that they do, in fact, remember.

Mary Margret and David no longer stood together in the main road of Storybrooke. Snow White and Prince Charming, however, were swallowed up in a cavernous embrace. The two had been overcome with awe when scenes of another's life flooded their minds- scenes of a brave prince rescuing his princess, accompanied by an equally brave princess saving her prince. There were scenes of a wedding, and a baby…

Suddenly, it was not Mary Margret seeing scenes from someone else's life, but Snow and Charming, recovering a long, lost past.

James left his pick-up running, with the door open and the key in the ignition, on the very outer boundary of Storybrooke. He rushed into town, running faster than ever before, to meet the woman he knew was his true love.

"You found me" She said to him, looking lovingly into his eyes- the eyes she had spent most of the past 28 years without.

"I told you, I will always find you" He promised as they kissed tenderly. As everyone in town knew, it certainly was not the first kiss they had shared in the past 28 years, but it was the first time they had kissed as Snow and Charming. This love, it was not secret and forbidden. It was not wrong and shameful. This love was pure; beautiful, true.

As they kissed, the memories ran like and electric current through their minds; finding each other, saving each other, the wedding, the baby …

The baby…

"Emma" Snow breathed as she broke their kiss. Her baby girl Emma. Last she had seen her, Emma was no more than 5 minutes old, wrapped in her knit baby blanket, being sent off to save the entire kingdom. No, scratch that. The last time she had seen Emma, she was chiding her on how horrible of a person Emma was for wanting to leave

Storybrooke; for leaving behind all her responsibilities

and for being a reckless mother who did not truly have her child's best interest at heart.

"I'm such a hypocrite" she whispered. "Yesterday, I was yelling at her for being an irresponsible mother, but how am I any better? I left her, Charming. I left our baby girl alone, in a new, terrible world I knew nothing about, just so she could do what I couldn't- save everyone. Oh God, Charming, what have I done?" She cried out frantically. Seeing her so ridden with guilt pained the prince, but he could do nothing at the moment to calm her. "How was that in her best interest? She had to raise herself! Our poor baby, she's spent the past 28 years building up walls, trying to protect herself from getting hurt, and I was the one who hurt her! She's had to fend for herself her entire life, while I sat here idly, doing nothing. She grew up without a family, thinking we abandoned her on the side of a road. She's going to hate me! Where was I when she was pregnant and in jail at 18? A mother's supposed to be there for her daughter, but where was I?" She asked frantically as a few loose tear escaped.

"Hey, hey" James said gently, trying to calm Snow down. "What's with all the I's and ME's? We are in this together. We both made the decision to leave her, and we both have to face the consequences. There's no way to get around it- she's had a hard life and we weren't there to make it any easier. All we can do now is love her unconditionally, as much as we did the day she was born, and hope she can find some way not to hate us. But whether she wants us in her life or not, we're in this together" He promised as he held the mother of his child tight.

Their tender moment was interrupted by the sound of a strong wind whisking through. Snow White and Prince Charming looked up to see a cloud of purple smoke rushing at them. Both too awestruck to speak, they held each other close, hoping that whatever this cloud's effects were, they would get the opportunity to see Emma and beg for her forgiveness.


	4. A Reluctant Alliance

Emma sat at her desk in the Sheriff's station. Henry had pulled up a seat beside her as they intently studied his book. The comfortable silence they held as they fell away, lost in thought, was broken by a steady rapping at the door. Emma looked up confused for a second. The station door had never been knocked on before- but that was probably because it was usually open. Right now, however, it was tightly locked for a number of reasons; since Emma did not know what the purple fog was or its effects. Though she did not know how safe Storybrooke was at the moment, she was sure of one thing; Regina was an enemy right now- a very powerful enemy with connections all over town. The only area Emma knew she had control over was the station. Also, Emma was growing increasingly disgusted with the term 'Princess' being held before her name, so the locks were also a way to keep out the adoring subjects looking for a way to help their savior.

Emma stood up to get the door, leaving Henry alone with his book at the desk. She looked through the blinds to be certain that Henry was in no danger, but when she saw who lurked on the other side, she fought a strong urge to break another toaster.

"Henry, I'll be right back, don't open this door for anyone but me, okay?" She said as she headed down the hallway towards the main door. Henry nodded and locked the office door behind Emma before settling back into the book, searching for more answers.

"What do you want?" Emma asked angrily.

"Why such a temper, Princess Emma?" He asked.

"Maybe because the last time I saw you, you tricked me into risking my life to get you some stupid potion, which you then stole, right after you almost trapped me in an elevator shaft while my son was left dying in a hospital bed!" She spit out at him. She was almost too angry to even notice the presence of the raggedy looking woman beside him. "And enough with this Princess crap! Last time I checked, we're all still in Maine, which means I'm still Sheriff Swan. I'm nobody's princess"

"Relax, Sheriff, because last time I checked, your boy's fine and dandy. Cancel the pity party and get your act together, we've got a lot to do and not very long to do it" Emma looked at Mr. Gold quizzically, deciding whether or not to trust him. "I know you're not sure if I've been looking out for you or for Regina, but I can assure you Miss Swan, this whole time I've been looking out simply for myself. Right now, your cause is the one that most greatly benefits me, so you're lucky enough to be graced with the honor of my assistance. In fact, I've already started helping you. That mist? My working. Thanks to me, you now have a twelve hour window to save everyone. You're welcome."

"Why?" Emma asked. She couldn't see how he would be benefitted from her cause in any way- although she wasn't really even quite sure what her cause was.

"I want to make a little deal- a pact, if you will. You see Dearie, people aren't calling you 'Princess' because you're so adorable. You're their leader. If you can defeat Regina by 8:15 tonight, the curse will be officially broken, and we will be transported back to our realm, where we belong. The Charming's will be in power, and I'm sure mommy and daddy would be fine with you releasing me from the prison I had been previously confined to and allowing me to return to my castle"

"Prison? For what?" Emma asked, concerned she might be doing more harm than good.

"Who are you to judge, Miss Swan? If I can remember correctly, you've been in prison yourself a few times" Mr. Gold shot back.

Emma looked genuinely confused for a moment. "That's different, I work here" she responded.

"I was referring to your DUI from earlier this year, as well as your incarceration at the time of Henry's birth" Gold Explained.

DUI? Emma thought t herself, confused. And since when does he know where I was where Henry was born? Actually, this wasn't the only whole in her memory, but one thing she did remember was Henry's warning of memory loss. She decided to worry about that out later; right now she was in the middle of a cunning argument.

"Why should I help you?" Emma asked.

"I'm a valuable ally. But I figured that wouldn't be enough to win you over, so I took the liberty of finding a way to bring your boy back with us."

"Henry?"

"He was born here, was he not? Our world is not his world, breaking the curse would not transport him back with us"

"He's right, Emma" Henry said.

"Henry!" Emma chided, "I told you to stay in the office!"

"Actually, you told me not to open the door, which I didn't" He explained, pointing to the open window on the side of the building. "And he's right. I wouldn't go back with you guys. Only the Dark One is powerful enough to alter the curse to transport someone from this world to yours. He designed it. We have to trust him" Henry explained.

"You see?" Mr. Gold asked, smiling at the boy for proving his point. "Originally, I had another guest in mind, a young boy much like yourself, Henry, but hated our world and he seems to be long gone anyway, so you're lucky enough to win the spot. Do we have a deal?"

Emma looked down to Henry, who gave her a reassuring look, telling her to accept Mr. Gold's handshake. Emma reluctantly accepted his hand into her own. The deal she hated to make was agreed upon.

"Good" Gold said, smiling. "We have about 10 hours until the curse becomes permanent, 8 until we lose our memories, so we should be getting started." Gold suggested, gesturing for her to allow the party into the station. Emma unlocked the door for the small group, and her eyes fell upon an unfamiliar face.

"Who's the girl?" Emma asked looking over to Belle.

All Mr. Gold replied was, "The reason I wish to return to my castle."


	5. A Death or a Deal

"Emma?" Snow called out each time she entered a new room of the small apartment. "I thought for sure she would be here" Snow said from inside Emma's bedroom.

"Yes, I had too" Said a voice in the doorway, "But it looks like I found the next best thing." Regina smiled evilly.

"What do you want, Regina?" James asked boldly.

"I already have it" She said as she gestured behind Charming. He whipped his head around to see Sydney Glass holding a tied up Snow White. Sydney looked apologetic- though not enough to release her.

"Let her go!" Charming demanded, "You have no use for her here! Take me instead!"

"That's where you're wrong, Prince. I do have a use for her; she's your collateral. Do me a favor and you'll get her back soon enough" Regina promised.

"What kind of favor?" he asked.

"I need Miss Swan out of the way"

"No. I won't hurt her" Prince Charming swore.

"Oh, relax. I don't need you to kill her or anything. And don't act like you haven't already hurt her. As far as she's been concerned for the past 28 years, she was an accident baby abandoned on the side of the road, like a dirty old sofa. I assure you that one last straw won't break the camel's back. She probably already suspects you don't love her. What does it matter, anyway? She's a grown woman; she doesn't need you to help her with her homework anymore. You've already missed that and there's nothing you can do to fix it." Regina guaranteed.

"Then what do you need me to do?" He asked, warily looking as his true love. They had been together for all of an hour, and already she was being torn from him. This seemed to be familiar, them being together only to be torn apart, but he could not recall when or if it had ever happened before. Actually, there were a few things he was having trouble recalling. "I need her out of the way. You'll get her to leave, go back to Boston, and leave my son and my town alone" Regina ordered.

"How am I supposed to do that?" James asked reluctantly.

"Confirm Emma's suspicions."

He looked to Snow White. She looked pained, like Sydney was holding her too tight, hurting her. So this was his decision- hurt Snow or hurt Emma. Both women had already experienced enough hurt from him.

"And if I say no?" He asked boldly, trying to weigh out his options.

"They both die"

"You're bluffing. If you are willing to kill her anyway, you would you have me send her away?"

"Henry's too attached to her. If I cause their separation, he'll resent me forever. If Emma chooses to leave on her own…"

"He'll resent her forever and you'll be the mother that didn't leave" James finished off.

"My thoughts exactly. So, do we have a deal?"

Charming though about his options for a moment. He decided if he disobeyed, he would never see either woman again, but if he complied with Regina's 'favor', maybe he could be lucky enough to be given the opportunity of making it up to Emma for the rest of his life. Maybe, he would be lucky enough.

Prince Charming's face wore the same expression of wariness that Emma's had when she accepted her own deal with Rumpelstiltskin. Like father, like daughter; he accepted the deal he hated making.


	6. A Less Than Ideal FatherDaughter Reunion

Henry and Emma sat together, sprawled out on the floor of the Sheriff's station, writing up a plan from how to go about taking down the Queen. Mr. Gold sat in an office chair (his bad leg preventing him from joining them on the floor) and provided corrections and suggestions every so often. Belle sauntered around the room, exploring all it had to offer. She was greatly intrigued by the world that lay beyond her hospital cell. Henry was extremely excited to begin the next phase of 'Operation Cobra', but was even more disappointed when Emma inquired about what exactly 'Operation Cobra' was.

"Our plan for taking down the Queen, remember?" Henry asked. Emma looked at him blankly, as if she had never heard the term before in her life.

"The memory loss- it's worsening" Mr. Gold announced.

Upon hearing an intruder enter the Sheriff's station hallway, Emma remembered she had forgotten to lock the front door and silently cursed her recent forgetfulness. She shot up and withdrew her Sheriff's issue gun from her side holster. "Stay here, no windows this time" she ordered Henry. She shot Mr. Gold a look saying, 'Protect my kid', to which he nodded, but in all honesty, if anything went wrong his only concern would be Belle's safety.

Emma carefully slipped through the doors of the office and held up her weapon as she carefully walked down the hallway. "Don't. Move." She commanded fiercely as she saw the movements of a shadow coming from down the hall.

"Whoa, Emma, it's me!" Charming called as he threw up his arms up to show he was no threat to the occupants of the Sheriff's station. Once she recognized the man behind that voice, she lowered her weapon and placed it back into its holster.

"David" She breathed, slowly relaxing her racing heart. "Lock that door behind you"

James did as he was told and followed Emma back down the hallway into the office. "What's up, David?" Emma asked as she pushed a loose curl out of her face.

"Emma" Henry called, motioning for her to bend down to his level. She complied and he cupped his hand over her ear to ensure his whisper would only be heard by her. After all, he didn't want his correction to embarrass her in front of the others. "It's James or Charming, not David," He explained. Emma gave Henry the simple sarcastic nod she gave him whenever he talked about his fairy tale characters- the nod that pacified his obsession with the curse. But after a slight, loving eye roll, she remembered that this wasn't some fairytale anymore- this was real. David Nolan really was Prince Charming, and more than that, "Your father". Those two words Henry added on to his statement carried more weight than two words ever had before. Emma's eyes grew wide as she came to the realization that she did, in fact have a father.

Emma wasn't the only one who realized this. "Why don't we go wait in the hall and let you two chat" Rumpelstiltskin suggested. He guided Henry and Belle out of the office door and into the hallway. Henry turned around before leaving and gave Emma two encouraging thumbs up. As much as he wanted to watch the loving reunion of his mother and grandfather, he knew they needed to be alone right now.

Emma watched the party leave and turned to Charming as the door clicked shut. She took in the sight of him, her father. She had dreamed of this reunion many times before, but never like this. Each scenario was different, yet the same. Every time, Emma was successful and happy, and her father was in need of something from the prosperous woman her regretted abandoning- money, a place to sleep, a kidney, bone marrow, his daughter's forgiveness on this death bed… whatever it was he needed, Emma took great pride in denying him it, and shutting the door of her big, beautiful home in his face. A wonderful revenge for a lost childhood.

But this was different. For starters, the man standing before her was barely older than her. And she didn't feel satisfied to finally get revenge on the man who dumped her on a highway all those years ago. She felt almost sympathetic. His face looked pained. Emma Swan had never in her life been more torn than at that very moment. She'd lived her whole life thinking her father was a person who cared so little about her existence that he didn't even have the decency to bring her to a fire station or a church, he left her on the side of a road, probably on the ride home from the hospital, if she was even born in one. But now, her father, the man looking at her, had a completely different story to tell, one she felt she should listen to. Maybe, just maybe, she should give someone the benefit of the doubt for once. She'd lived her whole life shutting people out, but maybe now it was time to let someone in.

"Emma" David began. He didn't know how to start this. All he knew was that he was about to destroy whatever emotions the girl before him had held on to during her roller coaster of a life. It pained him to think of hurting his daughter any more than he already had, but at the same time, he wondered if this could actually be good for her. This was, in fact, the way she had gotten along for 28 years. She probably wanted nothing to do with him.

And so he tried, but the words wouldn't come out. He knew what he had to do, what he had to tell her, but whenever he looked at the grown woman standing before him, all he could picture was the tiny baby he left in a wardrobe.

Suddenly, his mind was filled with memories that could have been. He thought of all the scraped knees he should have bandaged, all of the candles he should have lit on all the birthdays he should have celebrated. Teaching her to ride a bike, tie her shoes, read, write; all of it was missed out. He wasn't there to take care of her the first time she got sick or to comfort her the first time a boy broke her heart. He had never helped her study for a test or recover from a bad dream.

He did not deserve to call himself a father.

He swallowed back 28 years of repressed emotions and did was he had to do to save his little girl's life.

"Emma," he began again, "Snow and I thought one of us should come talk to you about all this," he said, gesturing to the atmosphere around him. "We've decided that since you're a grown woman, you probably weren't looking for parents the same age as you are. We figured it would just be best for all of us if we parted ways after the curse. If you feel you're entitled to a room in our castle, I'm sure there's an extra bed in the servants' quarters, but we feel it's best for everyone involved if we kept things the way they have been. After all, you've practically raised yourself, what do you need parents for now, right? We're sorry we were never there for you, but what are we supposed to do, throw you a month straight of birthday parties to make up for lost time?" He swallowed back the lump that was growing in his throat and told himself he was almost finished. "You're…damaged, Emma. Mommy and Daddy can't kiss away the pain and make it all better. We can't go back in time and prevent you from being a pregnant 17 year old in jail. I think the best thing for Snow and I is that we try this whole thing again, pick up from where we left off. I'm sure the nursery we had decorated for you is still up in the castle, we were thinking of having another baby and trying this again"

He knew he had done it. He watched her eyes through the entire speech as she slowly fell apart, destroyed on the inside. But that last bit, about her being damaged and a new baby, that was when her eyes really started to tear up. He could practically hear her telling herself not to cry.

Emma tried to but on a brave front. She tried to pretend Charming's words had not affected her in the least. She tried to act like she was happy for them and the new baby they would have, the one that would have a happy childhood with loving parents and who wouldn't grow up damaged.

"I've been fine alone my whole life, no reason I should need you now" Emma tried to explain, though she convinced neither James nor herself.

"Good. I'm glad we talked" Charming said as he headed for the door. "Should I let them back in?"

"Yeah" Emma replied; though having the three of them in the room was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to be alone so she could let her tears flow freely; alone, when no one could judge her or hurt her. The worst part of all this was that her superpower had failed this. She could have sworn James had the signature look of a liar written all over his face, but that must have been her mind deceiving her, showing her what she wanted to see.

"Hey!" Henry said excitedly as Charming left the room. Charming said nothing as he passed, his face a mixture of tears and shame, though he would never let Emma see. He kept his eyes on the floor as he rushed by. Belle and Rumpelstiltskin exchanged confused glances. The three filed back into the room, and found Emma had returned to her study of the book.

"So?" Henry prodded.

"So what?" Emma responded, empty.

"What happened, what did he say?" Henry asked eagerly.

"Nothing"

"Nothing? So you two just stared at each other for the past 10 minutes? Come on Emma, at least-"

"It doesn't matter Henry!" Emma snapped, cutting him off from his eager train of thought. Henry looked hurt, and immediately Emma regretted letting her emotions get the better of her. She never wanted to hurt Henry. "Sorry, just, we should get back to the book" Emma explained.

"Yeah, we should" Henry said quietly. He was devastated. Whatever had just happened had undone all the work he'd done with Emma over the past nine months. He'd gotten her to open up, to love. But the woman who had just yelled at him was the same woman he had met in Boston- emotionally distant Emma. His work had been torn down like a condemned building.


	7. You've Never Been Very Trustworthy

"I've done what you asked, you devilish imp. Now release my wife" James ordered.

"Very well, she's in there" Regina said, motioning toward the bedroom. James went to go get his wife, but was ambushed in the hallway by Sydney, a rope, and a roll of duct tape. He tied James to a kitchen chair and set him before Regina.

"I don't understand!" Charming protested, "I did what you asked of me, let us go!"

"Oh, you didn't really fall for that, did you? Of course I won't let you go! We can't give precious little Snow White her happy ending when mine was stolen from me, now can we? No, I think it would be much better if Emma returned to Boston, Henry returned to me, and you returned to your comma, Miss Blanchard returned to her fourth graders, and the curse returned to its power. Sydney?" Regina summoned. Suddenly, Sydney came around the corner with a plank of wood and pulled it far behind his shoulders, as if he were swinging a bat. "Goodnight, Charming" Regina whispered as Sydney swung the wood. There was a sickening crack as the plank made contact with James's skull, and he could feel himself losing consciousness.

"I'm…sorry…" Charming whispered as he fell into yet another deep sleep.

"No!" Snow yelled from the chair she was tied to in the bedroom. "You evil shrew! You'll never get back your power! Emma's going to break the curse and defeat you!" She swore.

"Oh really?" Regina asked, "Because it seems to me that your little savior Emma busy doing what she does best…running."


	8. Ignorance is Bliss

After a long study of the book, Henry suggested they might need a break from it, and his growling stomach suggested such a break would best take place at Granny's Diner.

"Emma!" he called as he ran over to her seat at the bar. "We have a big problem. This is happening faster than we expected, everyone's losing their memories!"

Emma took a deep breath and knelt down to Henry's level to look at him eye-to-eye. "Look, kid, is it really so bad if we let them forget? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. I mean, is it so important we let Archie remember he got Geppetto's parents killed, or for Ruby to remember she ate her boyfriend?" Emma asked.

"But Emma, remembering does make them happy! I mean, look at Snow and Charming! If they didn't remember, they wouldn't know you're their daughter, they wouldn't be as happy as they are right now!"

"They're not happy, Henry. They want nothing to do with me" Emma admitted.

"No, that can't be true!" Henry protested. "The evil Queen, she must be behind this!"

"Look, kid, as much as you hate her, Regina loves you. She raised you; she's been there for you though every birthday and every cold. You can't keep blaming her every time something goes wrong"

"I'm not forgetting" Henry responded.

"What?"

"I'm not forgetting. The curse doesn't affect me since I was born after it. I won't forget all this, I won't have that bliss"

"You'll forget someday" Emma promised. 'Someday, I'll just be a memory of some lady who came into your life and let you down. I'll fade away like an old paint job until you forget about me all together. That's good; you need to forget about me. I'm a bad example for you, Henry. I haven't lived a good life, but you deserve to."

"No, Emma, don't talk like that! You need to break the curse, you need to save everyone; they're depending on you!"

"Then let that be a lesson!" Emma snapped, "Don't depend on anyone, ever. They all let you down." With that, Emma hopped off of her seat and left the diner, leaving Henry alone at the bar.


	9. Forgetting

Henry peeled around the corner and felt a rush of relief as he spotted Emma leaning against the hood of her car. "Emma, Emma!" he called, "I found it! I found a way to break the curse!"

Emma stared at him blankly. "Can I help you, kid?" She asked.

Then he realized it. She had lost her memory.

"No, no, this can't be happening! It can't be! We still have an hour left! I found a way to break the curse! We have to break it, you have to remember!" Henry begged.

"Look, kid, I have no idea what you're talking about"

"I know" Henry said, disappointed. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

True love's kiss.

It was strong enough to break any curse. The true love between a mother and her son had brought Henry back to life just days ago. Maybe, just maybe, it could bring Emma's memory back long enough for her to break the curse. It was worth a shot.

"I love you, mom" Henry said as he reached up and placed a kind, innocent kiss on a confused looking Emma's cheek. He pulled away and looked hopefully into her eyes. A circle of rainbow blew a wind across the land as Emma coughed up a puff of purple smoke, the magic that had caused her to lose her memory.

"I love you too, Henry" She smiled at her son as she engulfed her in a hug. Her memories came flooding back to her- all of them. Everything from discovering her son (or rather, her son discovering her), losing Graham, and more recently, Charming informing her just how unwanted she really was. The memories pained her, she was surer now more than ever than ignorance really was bliss. However, she would have time later to wallow in self-pity. Even if her parents did not love her, Henry did. And he had just called her mom. It was so odd to hear, so loving.

She released Henry from her arms and looked up at the giant clock. It read 7:15 as the sun set behind it. They still had an hour left.

"Come on, Henry," Emma announced, "Let's go break this curse"


End file.
